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Report: Bread & Butter had a big time

by Maria Hunstig — January 18, 2013

Yesterday, the 28th edition of Bread & Butter closed its doors at Berlin Tempelhof, leaving behind exhibitors with a throughout positive feeling.

The restructuring of the trade show had been anticipated tensely and after the last three full-packed days, one can say that it’s been generally accepted well. The Urban Base (former Denim Base) now hosts not only the big denim brands, but a mix of big players in the urban fashion market, ranging from Marc O’Polo to New Era. Although these brands do partly originate from very different segments, which firstly seems like making the orientation within the hall more complicated, “their variety resembles the way, an interesting assortment is composed today”, as one retailer put it.

Andrea Cannelloni, Napapijri about the new range and location of exhibitors: “It was the right step to make these changes.” Also Frank Walberg, Liu-Jo, is opinionated: "The fair's move from real denim more towards urban wear was a good idea. We feel much better positioned in the urban base area." Nonetheless, some classic jeans retailers did miss some brands. Norbert Kaltenbach, Jeans Kaltenbach: “We are here with our complete buying team and look for interesting brands for our new shop. I do miss the denim world a bit though.“

Making these changes, Bread & Butter has set its direction and focus – and hereby even contributes to the justification of other Berlin-based trade shows like the newly established Panorama fair, which serve a neighbouring, but different audience.

The new architectural design of the halls accounted for the clearness of the show. Whilst the biggest players (such as Scotch & Soda, Adidas, Antony Morato or Tommy Hilfiger) had their homes in rather closed booths alongside the walls, the middle gangway offered space for more openly arranged and smaller stands. Serdar Mazmanoglu, Mavi, was enthusiastic: “We like the new conception of the halls. This is the best trade show in the world.“

Frequency-wise, exhibitors reported on a very international audience – and they even spread some optimism about the often-discussed state of the market. Thomas Zeiher, Clarks: “For us, this was the best Bread & Butter ever. We had as many visitors on one day as we normally welcomed on all three. The sentiment within retail is much better than reported. All the big retailers have been here.” Also David Peppicelli, European Culture, said: “We have met many international customers here. You don’t really feel much of the crisis here.”